Maple-Cardamom Glazed Salmon
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Author Notes: Now is as good a time as any to admit my current affair with cardamom. So addicted am I to the sweet-savory spice that I've been incorporating it into dishes wherever possible. Here it partners with one of my favorite ingredients for glazing salmon: maple syrup. The syrup and spice make a deliciously complex coat for the fish -- the glaze strikes a chord between sweet and savory, with smoky paprika and cayenne pepper adding a hit of heat. I cooked it in the oven, but for an even smokier finish, try grilling on a wood plank. - alasully
Makes 1 lb of fish
- 1 pound wild salmon filet, de-boned
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- pinch cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl combine maple syrup, cardamom, paprika, cayenne and a bit of freshly ground pepper. Whisk until mixture is smooth. Adjust to taste.
- Arrange salmon filet on a cutting board. Remove the bones (if your fishmonger hasn't already) and cut into pieces, size as preferred. Brush syrup mixture evenly over the salmon filets. Place a large cast iron skillet into the oven and allow it to heat up for about five minutes while the salmon rests.
- Place the salmon in the preheated skillet (scale-side down) and cook for about 10 minutes. Brush more glaze onto the salmon and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes until the salmon is cooked to your liking.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Maple Recipe
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about 1 month ago Marcy
This was delicious. I made it with Vermont maple syrup on wild salmon. I didn't have cardamom and used cinnamon and nutmeg as a substitute. Really good. I'd definitely make this again. Thank you.
4 months ago Mary E
This was wonderful. Thank you. I used canned salmon and just threw it in a skillet with the above spices. I let everything simmer for about 10 minutes. I used sugar free maple syrup since I'm watching my carbs. Great recipe.
7 months ago LittleMissMuffin
Not sure if I did something wrong, but I did not like this at all, and I love salmon, smoked paprika and maple syrup. I used ground cardamom from Guatemala. Very disappointed...maybe cardamom is like curry, some people just don't like it? My kids didn't like it either. Normally I just sear salmon with salt and pepper but its finally cool enough here in soca to turn the oven on, so I thought I would try this
9 months ago Peter
While Peter no longer works for Food52 he still thinks up ways to make the website better.
For those concerned about carbs, for what it's worth, I've made this recipe about 5 times and have cut the glaze recipe (and in turn, the volume of maple syrup) in half and still have enough to coat the fish thoroughly.
10 months ago Caprice
I live in Philadelphia, and no one (markets) sells these cardamom pods or ground cardamom. Any other suggestions? Thanks.
10 months ago Peter
While Peter no longer works for Food52 he still thinks up ways to make the website better.
I'm 95% sure that Whole Foods would sell Cardamom in some form or another. If they don't, ask any local Indian or Pakistani where Indian groceries are sold -- I assure you that *somewhere* in the City of Brotherly Love one can buy Cardamom.
Alternatively, you can just order it online from Penzey's.
4 months ago Heinz57v
Shop rite, acme stores in the main line, super fresh haver town, path marks in diverse neighborhoods and all the Indian grocery store(upper Darby, Bensalem, malvern, all have good Indian groceries the best being royal India in malvern & Patel brothers in Bensalem) also even some Indian owned dollar/convenience stores have them or could tell you where to get it
10 months ago Diane Gail
Does anyone have an idea of how many grams of carbohydrates are in each serving?
Being a Type i diabetic with an insulin pump a recipe isn't complete without a carbohydrate count.
thank you,
9 months ago maggiesara
With all due respect, Diane, I'm a Type II diabetic, and I have long since learned to calculate the carb counts on recipes; if you rely on others to do that for you -- especially others who do not have any particular expertise in diabetes, low-carb diets, or nutritional counts in general -- you are asking for trouble.
That said, the only meaningful cabs in this recipe come from the maple syrup; there are about 54 grams of carbs in a quarter-cup, meaning this recipe would come in at between about 14 and 27 grams per serving, none of it mitigated by fiber. Personally, I would probably use either maple-flavored Whey Low ( my absolute sweetener of choice) or Steel's "Country Syrup" (made with maltitol, and thus a distant second choice for me) to radically reduce the carb-count.
9 months ago maggiesara
The discrepancy in carb counts is a function of the number of servings: I would tend to serve a pound of salmon to two people, and assume some leftovers. If you split the recipe among four, you'll get the lower per-serving carb count.
10 months ago davewave151
This might be silly but once you remove the skillet from the oven, do you cook the fish in the preheated pan without a flame under it?
10 months ago Peter
While Peter no longer works for Food52 he still thinks up ways to make the website better.
Not silly at all. Actually, you put the skillet back in the oven... which should still be on.
11 months ago cookiemo
I hate to say it, but my kids didn't like it; they said the salmon was TOO SWEET. Imagine kids saying that! Anyway, I'll stick to the my traditional way of baking salmon using salt and pepper.
12 months ago Peter
While Peter no longer works for Food52 he still thinks up ways to make the website better.
I know not everyone is in NYC but for those who are, you can buy cardamom *seeds*, not the pods, at Kalustyan on Lexington and 28th. It's $4.99 for 1 ounce and $9.99 for 3 ounces. Considering the whole pods are $2.25 an ounce at Sahadi's this seems like a great price when you consider how much work you save (I'm assuming the pre-unpod-ed but not yet ground seeds will end up just as flavorful as if you do the work to get the seeds out of the pods. If anyone disagrees do let me know.)
12 months ago caitlintherese
The maple sauce added a really delicate flavor that balanced perfectly with the strong salmon flavor. I found that 2 tsp of cardamom to be a bit much, so I added more syrup to balance it out. LIKE!
12 months ago oregon cassie
We had overnight guests at our vacation home, where I have a limited kitchen so made this in a basic sauté pan. Favors were fantastic & I loved the ease. Copper River salmon's (the best!) season just started -- can't wait to use this recipe again this week (only 2-3 week availability).
about 1 year ago rbnyc
Made this for Mother's Day with fresh King Salmon on the grill with a cedar plank. Used a spice grinder for the cardamom pods. This recipe was so easy and the taste was fantastic. We had these alongside asparagus and a sweet potato/black bean salad ala Mark Bittman. Big big hit. Thanks.
about 1 year ago FoodieTina
delicious! might try marinating it longer or cutting salmon fillet into smaller pieces to deepen the flavor.
about 1 year ago Arrxx
I tried this and mixed in a little grainy mustard. Delicious.
about 1 year ago Incognito
I prepared this recipe last night with a piece of Alaskan King Salmon and it was absolutely delicious (served with tiny new potatoes and steamed fiddleheads). Regarding the cardamom, Penzeys Spices sells small jars of unground cardamom seed without the outer husk. Grind the tiny seeds in your spice mill and you will get the intense flavor you desire with very little effort. An unusual and interesting recipe alasully!
about 1 year ago Peter
While Peter no longer works for Food52 he still thinks up ways to make the website better.
Made this last night and it was a big, big hit (served with sauteed ramps in butter and oven-roasted brussels sprouts. My only caveat would that getting the cardomom seeds out of the pods is time-consuming. It turns what seems like 3 minutes of prep into 15. Maybe find the time to de-pod the seeds somewhat far in advance while watching the Daily Show the night before?
about 1 year ago srossi
What would you recommend as sides for this salmon? I usually stick with rice pilaf and a miscellaneous veg to salmon, but wonder if you might have any more carefully curated sides in mind.
about 1 year ago waterbabyandrea
Hi Srossi, I like a mix of long grain brown and wild rice, but the pilaf sounds nice as well. Potatoes also go nicely with salmon. As for veg, pretty much any fresh green veg would be luscious with it, but I have a preference for sweet peas. I grew up eating salmon with peas, because we ate local and they were both in season at the same time. Enjoy!
about 1 year ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
I just recently had cardamom on some salmon for the first time and loved it! This sounds wonderful! I'm definitely giving it a try!
about 1 year ago Kitchen Butterfly
Love it. Love the smoky and sweet flavours and also the slate it's served on! well done
about 1 year ago Bevi
This glaze sounds really tasty!